In Defence of the Joke No One Found Funny

Edinburgh Fringe is an ever-changing beast. More and more venues pop up each year to house more and more comedians. But one thing remains absolutely constant (and oh so predictable!) – the annual chorus of disapproval that greets the announcement of Dave’s Joke of the Fringe.

“If a teenager had said this in a playground, it might be rightfully classed as funny,” huffed one user of this newspaper’s website. “The names of the judges should have been the number one joke,” added another. Quite good, that last one. But as a member of the panel responsible for the shortlist of 15 jokes, which was then put to a public vote, I should probably try and defend our choices.

Comedian Ken Cheng has won Dave’s Joke of the Fringe awardCredit: PA

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